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I'm not the biggest Hamilton fan at this point, but I think this is a club that makes sense for him. I still think he can be a valuable middle of the order bat, but I would be worried about the length of any deal

I'm not the biggest Hamilton fan at this point, but I think this is a club that makes sense for him. I still think he can be a valuable middle of the order bat, but I would be worried about the length of any deal

Length would be my biggest worry too. He's not a spring chicken, and the way he lived his early life tends to take a toll on the body. I'm not sure how I feel on Hamilton yet. I hope we make some sort of offer, but I hope we're smart about it. I wouldn't make our number 1 priority signing him, but I would put an offer in that we think is fair for us, and then stick by that offer. Don't offer the extra year or the extra money if his agent pushes back. We need to stick to our guns and have the philosophy that if we get him, then great, if we don't, then oh well, we'll still be a good team.

Originally Posted by long ball

I don't see it happening. It's not where help is needed the most.

They need at least one dependable starter and some new pieces in the pen. With a relatively small amount to spend there just isn't room in the budget.

The way I look at it is where do we get the most value. I really don't care what position its at to be honest. I think if we think the upgrade of Hamilton over Gomez provides us more wins then, for example, the upgrade of Anibal Sanchez over a Mark Rodgers or whoever our fifth starter is, then we have to try to get Hamilton if the price is right. But if we think having Hamilton in the lineup and on defense isn't worth as many wins as getting lets say Dempster and someone else, then I'd go that route. It really comes down to value for me.

I could see it happening. Signing a guy like Hamilton can never hurt. Great bat with a solid glove. Not to mention his arm. Signing him will give us 6 outfielders, not including Schafer who will probably get a shot at the big league club come spring. If we do sign him, i see us keeping Aoki, Hart, and Braun. I don't think Nyjer has any value, but i think we could get a decent bullpen piece if we were to trade Gomez. I'm fine with CarGo being our everyday starter in Center. But i wouldn't object object to signing Hamilton and trading Gomez.

This move really makes sense to make because, as we all know, generating runs was our biggest issue last year, and that's what kept us out of the post season. Not our mediocre to bad bullpen pitching. Not to mention, depending on how you look at it, we don't have and Ace (if Gallardo isn't your man) and if he is, then we don't have a #2. Not to say any number of our rooks won't fill that role in time, they won't next season, that's for sure.

Spend on pitching, all pitching, all day, and then upgrade whatever you want but tossing the farm at Hamilton to upgrade a lineup that doesn't really need an upgrade to spite our pitching is a waste.

This move really makes sense to make because, as we all know, generating runs was our biggest issue last year, and that's what kept us out of the post season. Not our mediocre to bad bullpen pitching. Not to mention, depending on how you look at it, we don't have and Ace (if Gallardo isn't your man) and if he is, then we don't have a #2. Not to say any number of our rooks won't fill that role in time, they won't next season, that's for sure.

Spend on pitching, all pitching, all day, and then upgrade whatever you want but tossing the farm at Hamilton to upgrade a lineup that doesn't really need an upgrade to spite our pitching is a waste.

Its not like there's a cap on how many runs you can score. What kept us out of the postseason last year was not winning enough games. I understand that pitching was a huge part of that, but a 1-0 win counts the same as a 10-9 win in the standings.

I'm not saying we have to go after Hamilton, but if his price is reasonable, he might be a better option than some of the pitchers out there. I don't want to spend on another Suppan or David Riske or trade for another Scott Linebrink. If we can't get a starting pitcher who's really a decent amount better than Mark Rodgers and Marco Estrada, then its probably not worth it.

And that especially goes with relief pitching. I dare anyone to go back over the last 5 years and look at the contracts that non-closer relief pitchers have gotten league wide. How many of those deals have really turned out to be team friendly? I would venture a guess that not many turn out well. The only ones that typically turn out well are minor league signings to guys coming off bad years, that happen to have a good year the next year.

Look at a couple of our examples. David Riske was more than a bust. Even Latroy Hawkins was probably not that great for us. Ultimately he made $7.5mill for 64.1 innings with a roughly 4 ERA (and if you're into advanced stats, a WAR of .1).